PATEROS by SCK-CEN(Belgium)

http://www.sckcen.be/pateros/

PATEROS

Partitioning and Transmutation European Roadmap for Sustainable nuclear energy

 Almost 2 billion people around the world have no access to electricity and the problem will worsen as the global population continues to grow. The World Energy Council’s WEC Statement 2000 points out that although global reliance on fossil fuels and large hydro will remain strong through 2020, these will not be able to meet the world’s long-term electricity demand in a sustainable manner. As a consequence, WEC concludes that the role of nuclear power must be stabilised with the aim of possible future extensions.

A closed fuel cycle is a prerequisite for making nuclear energy a sustainable one. This can be reached by deploying advanced partitioning and efficient transmutation systems to reduce the burden on the geological storage. This objective is of relevance both for countries committed to nuclear energy in the future and for countries not committed to a further deployment of nuclear energy.

The Objectives of this Coordination Action (CA) is to deliver a European vision for the deployment of the partitioning and transmutation technology up to the scale level of pilot plants for all its components. The CA action working programme is organised in 6 Work packages (WP) as indicated below:

•         WP1: Rational and added value of P&T for waste management policies

•         WP2: Review & selection of Relevant Fuel Cycle Strategies in Europe supplemented by Regional Context for Development and Deployment.

•         WP3: Fuel Cycle Facilities related to Reprocessing.

•         WP4: Fuel Cycle Facilities related to Fuel Fabrication Demonstration.

•         WP5: Fuel Cycle Facilities & Associated Technology (ies) for Transmutation.

•         WP6: Integration and Evaluation of Resources and Time Planning.